Before treatment

Before your appointment

What the appointment involves, what it feels like, and what is worth asking before you agree to it.

Whatever the dentist treating you tells you comes first. They are the ones who will be doing it.

A filling

Decay cut out, and the shape of the tooth rebuilt.

A tooth removed from its socket, under local anaesthetic.

Cleaning the root surfaces below the gum line, usually over several appointments.

The infected pulp taken out of the inside of a tooth, so the tooth can be kept.

A tooth reshaped, and a cover made to replace its whole outer surface.

If the appointment itself is the problem

What you can ask for, and how to ask for it — including the signal that stops things, and what to say when you book.